Fans may have seen the last of Iron Man’s friend Rhodey, as Don Cheadle reveals he signed a six-movie deal with Marvel, which would make War Machine’s appearance in Avengers: Endgame his last. Cheadle made his MCU debut with Iron Man 2, taking over the role from Terrence Howard. Cheadle’s performance is a fan-favorite, with many praising his chemistry with Robert Downey Jr. Cheadle returned as War Machine for Iron Man 3, following that up with smaller roles in Avengers: Age of Ultron and Captain America: Civil War. He then returned for 2018’s Avengers: Infinity War and Endgame. War Machine also made a credits appearance in Captain Marvel, as often happens in the MCU.
Click the button below to start this article in quick view.
Cheadle’s role in Avengers: Endgame was particularly important, as Tony Stark/Iron Man sacrificed himself in that movie. War Machine is there when it happens and is one of the many MCU heavyweights who show up for Tony’s funeral. Iron Man’s death seemed to signify the logical end of stories for characters connected to him like War Machine and Pepper Potts, but it would also be easy to work them into future films if need be. Unlike Iron Man, both ended the Infinity Saga alive, meaning they could feasibly return to the present-day MCU timeline.
Now, Cheadle lends some clarity to whether that could happen. In an interview with The A.V. Club, Cheadle discussed being offered the part of War Machine, as well as his initial deal with Marvel:
I was actually at my kid’s birthday party—a laser tag party—and I got a call from my agent, and they said, “Hey, so I want to connect you to these Marvel guys. They want to talk to you, but they want to offer you the part.” I don’t think it was [Kevin] Feige. I don’t know who was on the phone. But they said, “Hey, this is the role. We want you to do this. It’s a six-picture deal.” I was like, “What?! Oh, uh, okay…” And I’m trying to do the math. I’m like, “That’s 11 or 12 years. I’m not sure.”
After explaining how he came to the decision, Cheadle also shared how surprised he was by the longevity of the MCU, saying, “I know that they had a plan laid out, but believing that it was going to be executable, believing that we were going to be able to sustain it for this long, no one anticipated that.“
Marvel contracts are always interesting, as the terms of them can sometimes hint at a character’s storyline in an upcoming movie. This even led the writers of Avengers: Infinity War to remind fans ahead of time that expiring MCU contracts don’t necessarily spell disaster for certain characters. For example, though Chris Evans’ time as Captain America is done for now, his character didn’t actually die in Avengers: Endgame, but rather went back in time to spend his life with Peggy Carter.
Likewise, Cheadle’s reveal about the terms of his contract doesn’t mean fans will never see Rhodey again. In fact, despite Iron Man’s death, Robert Downey Jr. is rumored to appear in Black Widow, as the film takes place in the past. The same caveat wouldn’t be needed for another War Machine appearance. In all likelihood, it will depend on Marvel’s plans and Cheadle’s willingness to revisit the role after Avengers: Endgame.
Source: The A.V. Club
- Black Widow (2020)Release date: Nov 06, 2020
- Eternals (2021)Release date: Feb 12, 2021
- Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings (2021)Release date: May 07, 2021
- Spider-Man: Homecoming 3 (2021)Release date: Jul 16, 2021
- Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (2021)Release date: Nov 05, 2021
- Thor: Love and Thunder (2022)Release date: Feb 18, 2022
- Black Panther 2 (2022)Release date: May 06, 2022
- Captain Marvel 2 (2022)Release date: Jul 08, 2022
